Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/705249
8 maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 20 JULY 2016 News IN ALL LEADING BOOK SHOPS HISTORY OF ORNITHOLOGY IN MALTA Malta's suitability to give carmakers type approval questioned European Parliament study suggests carmakers cut corners by seeking out different member states for the type-approval of their vehicles MATTHEW VELLA EUROPEAN Community Whole Vehicle Type Approval (ECWV- TA) is the process used to ensure that motor vehicles intended to be placed on the market for consum- ers meet relevant environmental, safety and security standards Malta and Luxembourg are punching considerably above their weight when it comes to Eu- ropean carmarkers using the EU's two smallest member states to ac- quire their type approvals: a cer- tificate of conformity to meet a minimum set of regulatory, tech- nical and safety requirements, necessary before the car can be sold. A European Parliament study found that the two countries, which represent only 0.2% of EU population, and zero percent of car manufacturing, is also pro- viding certification for carmak- ers. The report looked at 30 diesel cars recently identified as emit- ting more emissions on the road than in the laboratory. Malta appears as having reg- istered type approvals for Opel, Kia, Renault and Mitsubishi in 2014. Luxembourg in particular does a lot of certification, EUobserver. com has reported, making it sec- ond only to Germany, thanks to its central location and efficiency to major carmakers. But car industry lobbyist Erik Jonnaert, secretary-general for the Brussels-based European Au- tomobile Manufacturers Associa- tion, could not say why Malta was also popular. "I have no idea about the figures for Malta. It is the first time I hear about Malta," Jonnaert said. The EU's single market allows carmakers to apply for a sales certificate only once, usually in their home country, for them to sell their cars anywhere in the EU. But they also need a type approval to sell the car. This system was blown apart in September 2015 when it was discovered that Volkswagen had equipped millions of diesel cars with cheating software. The Eu- ropean Parliament study shows that at least 25% of carmakers are not approved in their home coun- try, which means carmakers can apply for type approval in mem- ber states further away from the place of manufacture. According to clean transport NGO Transport & Environment's Greg Archer, national authori- ties "are not scrutinising vehicles properly, but are trying to help their manufacturers achieve a competitive advantage over other companies". When EUobserver.com spoke to the Malta Competition and Con- sumer Affairs Authority and sug- gested that while approving the cars it also had the responsibility of overseeing the market, the au- thority did not reply to the ques- tion sent by email. Similarly, carmakers like Swed- ish company Volvo acquired cer- tificates in 2014 from Spain, with smaller numbers of approvals granted by the Netherlands, Ire- land, Hungary, Luxembourg, and Latvia – despite Volvo not having any factories in those countries. The BMW Group in 2014 ac- quired almost all of its approvals in its home country Germany. However, one was granted by Lat- via. Carmakers cutting corners The European Commission has noted in an impact assessment on a new emissions law that the EU system is based on "mutual trust between member states with re- gard to the stringency applied in enforcing the type approval re- quirements". But that means that "the weak- est links in the chain… could be targeted by applicants who want to cut corners" – this could be re- lated to how strict or lenient cer- tain type approval authorities are. The authors of the European Parliament's legal study identi- fied four features that determine which countries car companies will use for type-approval: a short- processing period of just days; a low intensity audit after the type approval is obtained; a low rate of reviews of the test results pro- cessed by the technical service; or low type-approval costs. With such a lack of consistent quality control by the EC, a cer- tain degree of competition can de- velop between the type-approval authorities: some member states have private companies carrying out checks and unlike Malta, have more than one technical service operating in various regions. For example, Opel operates manufacturing plants in Austria, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Por- tugal, Spain and the United King- dom. However, more than 40% of the type approvals were granted in the Netherlands by the Vehi- cle Technology and Information Centre (RDW). Kia for example chooses type- approval authorities in the Neth- erlands and Luxembourg. 97% of all type approvals for Porsche passenger cars have likewise been granted in Luxembourg. "The Luxembourg type-approval au- thority, for example, shows a very high number of type approvals issued despite not having any car manufacturing industry." Emissions tests, like other steps of the approval process, are often done at the premises of the car companies. They carry out the tests under supervision of a so- called technical service to which the authority has outsourced the testing. And this means "that the quality of testing differs across Europe, with smaller European approval authorities whose depth of their technical competence may be questioned." The European Commission has proposed changes to resolve these issues but member states have scrapped a requirement for type approval authorities to "have a sufficient number of competent personnel at its disposal for the proper performance of the tasks foreseen by this regulation". The EU allows carmakers to apply for a sales certificate only once but they also need a type approval to sell the car